Autism signs symptoms and characteristics vary dependent on the age of the child. I will try in this article to cover the signs symptoms and characteristics of Autism in infants and children.

Autism is a Spectrum Disorder and the signs symptoms and characteristics of Autism vary from child to child. We must be aware that all children are individuals whether they are Autistic or not.

In this article I will produce various Autism Checklists, to enable the readers to detect signs and symptoms of Autism in their children. These checklists are for advice only and should you suspect your child has Autism you MUST seek medical advice.

Signs of Autism are not easily detected in infants, it is not until the child is between 24-36 months old before Autism is diagnosed.There is however intensive research being carried out to try to identify the signs of Autism in infants as early as six months old The earlier the signs and symptoms of Autism are detected the sooner the child can be helped, and also the parents can learn how to cope.

All infants develop at a different speed, so it is important to look for a combination of signs of Autism and not just pick out one thing.Listed below are some of the early signs of Autism in infants.

Normally when a child reaches the age of about six months they will begin to smile and even show some reaction when their parents enter the room. A child with Autism does not smile or show any awareness or reaction to parents. They tend to stare at a fixed object.

At nine months an infant would normally reciprocate a smile or touch from their parents, but a child with Autism will show no reaction.Unlike other children at twelve months old the autistic child does not babble,point to objects,copy or mimic others, by clapping hands or waving. By the time the child reaches two they are not using 2 word phrases.

As I said earlier it is a combination of these signs that parents should check for.

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It is thought that approximately 1.5 million Americans suffer from Autism.There is no cure for Autism only treatment. Some children can develop quite normally until the age of 2-3 and then they seem to lose the skills they have developed. This is around the same time most children have various vaccinations hence the reason that people mistakenly link Autism with vaccinations.Below is a checklist of various signs and symptoms of Autism.

Eye Contact Lack of eye contact means there is little or no direct eye to eye contact or facial expression.

Interaction A child with Autism prefers to play alone and does not interact with others around. They show little or no reaction to people or objects around them. Quite often they will appear to be deaf because they are not responding to their name.

Routine This is very important to the child any variation from routine can cause great distress.

Mood Severe mood swings together with tantrums for no apparent reason. Sometimes just the sense of touch can create tantrums.

Learning Resistance to learningby acting in an aloof manner, not respoding to stimuli.

Speech Inability to communicate by being unable to link phrases together, Sometimes repeating words or phrases out of context.

Communication Inability to communicate with others by lack of speech or pointing or gestures.

Below is a lis of characteristics displayed by children with Autism.

Inattentive

destructful

impulsive

restless

hyperactive

forgetful

moody

Inappropriate laughing and giggling

Spinning objects

Aggressive

Remember each child is an individual therefore we must look at a combination of these charactersitics.